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The transfers of Tippecanoe Valley student-athletes Sam Wideman and Tiffany Glingle to other schools have triggered an investigation by the IHSAA.
Blake Ress, assistant commissioner of the IHSAA, confirmed that the governing organization of Indiana high school athletics has been looking into the situation.
Wideman, a star basketball and volleyball player, recently enrolled at Warsaw High School after her family moved from the Valley school district to Warsaw. And Glingle, also a member of the volleyball and basketball teams, is said to be headed to NorthWood High School, but her family has not moved.
"If either school thinks something is amiss, we investigate it," Ress said.
In the meantime, Wideman sits on the sidelines during volleyball season, waiting to get her eligibility confirmed.
"We don't try to delay them," Ress said. "We try to do them as quickly as possible. However, when the question is made you have to investigate until you know the whole story."
When a student transfers schools and wants to participate in athletics at the new school, the former school has to fill out a form and send it to the new school; then it is sent to the IHSAA office.
It is because of what is on those forms that the IHSAA is looking into the two cases.
"The IHSAA is questioning the motives behind the moves," Valley athletic director Duane Burkhart said. "When the IHSAA received the transfer report, a red flag went up.
"The justification of any transfer is up to the IHSAA to interrupt based on the information from the schools involved," he said. "Tippecanoe Valley, NorthWood and Warsaw high schools and the families that moved all have to answer to the IHSAA when it pertains to a student-athlete."
Burkhart said Valley did not ask for the investigation by the IHSAA, but enough questions were raised for IHSAA involvement.
"We answered our portion based on the knowledge that we had at that point in time," he said. "Kids transfer in and kids transfer out, it happens every school year. At any school, you hate to see kids move away whether they are an athlete or not. You always want to keep good students in your school corporation."
The investigation, as well as the time Wideman has spent not in a Tiger uniform, has been a waste of time, according to Warsaw athletic director Dave Fulkerson.
"There is an ongoing investigation, and they will talk with people at Tippy and with our principal (Paul Crousure), and once the information has been gathered she will be declared eligible," Fulkerson said. "The parents have made a legitimate move and have sold their house in the Tippy school district and are currently living in our school district and have bought land to build a home. As far as I am concerned, under rule 19-5, she is eligible."
Rule 19-5 gives full eligibility to an athlete after a legal change of address by the family.
Glingle's situation is a little different at NorthWood. Because there was no change in address, she would have only partial eligibility, which means playing only junior varsity.
Glingle, a junior this year, would have full varsity eligibility next season at NorthWood.
The investigation could take as long as two weeks before a decision is reached by the IHSAA.
